Oaten: prison sell-off to fund yob plans

Inner city prisons should be closed and sold off for cash to fund a more constructive approach to tackling antisocial behaviour, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, Mark Oaten, told Guardian Unlimited today.

In an exclusive interview with SocietyGuardian.co.uk, Mr Oaten sketched out his party's "tough liberalism" approach to antisocial behaviour, criticising the government's reliance on antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos) as only "part of the solution".

He argued that selling off prisons in areas of high land value would help fund a more constructive approach to curbing youth antisocial behaviour, moving away from the "draconian" tone set by the home secretary, David Blunkett.

Under the Lib Dem proposals, young people who blight the lives of their communities would be steered away from the courts as much as possible, through the extended use of acceptable behaviour contracts and by encouraging more creative ways of deterring antisocial behaviour in the first place.

Admitting that encouraging joy riders to rehabilitate - by measures such as being sent on part-time mechanic courses or treating youngsters to drives round race circuits - would prove a resource-intensive option, Mr Oaten said part of the answer lay in closing down prisons for cash.

"We want to sell off prisons that are in city centre sites," he said. "We have a large Victorian prison system at the moment and many of these prisons are in high residential areas with high property value ... We would use that short-term money for short-term investment and also a programme of education.

"When people start on criminal activity it is, at the moment, on the path to prison, which costs £352 a night. Why not spend that money right at the start of the process and use that for the mechanics course and save all the money on that prison sentence?"

Mr Oaten described himself as "absolutely convinced" that providing young people with constructive options would curb bad behaviour.

He accused Labour of failing to match their tougher approach on penalties with a restorative approach.

"When David Blunkett is faced with an audience he prefers to push more draconian measures," he said. "He is frightened to talk about the more liberal solutions.

"I recognise the public needs to be reassured but these are more effective solutions."

Speaking of the government's current remedy of choice, antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos), Mr Oaten said they were only one "part of the solution".

Introduced in 1999, Asbos ban people from a specific antisocial act for at least two years, with criminal penalties if breached. The policy has yet to take off, with Tony Blair admitting earlier this month that the crackdown on loutish behaviour on Britain's streets has yet to reach the "critical mass" stage that persuades culprits that it no longer pays to be a nuisance.

Figures released earlier this month showed that 2,455 Asbos have been issued since 1999, including by a number of Lib Dem-run councils, with 422 in Manchester, 59 in Liverpool and 122 in Leeds - though its adoption remains patchy around the country

Mr Oaten said: "If you give a 16 to 17-year-old a £30 fine there is no guarantee they will not come back next week and cause problems again. In terms of changing behaviour and stopping it happening again we think you want something more to go with the fine."

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